Expand the Reach of Animal Cruelty Statutes

Prosecutions of animal cruelty cases rely on state statutes, which only prohibit the most extreme acts, inflicted on only those animals most familiar to us. They leave the majority of animals without legal protection from cruel treatment.

State statutes only prohibit the most extreme acts and leave the majority of animals without legal protection.

Anticruelty statutes are based upon important principles: animals are sentient beings; they experience pain, fear and suffering. Animal cruelty is also often related to acts of violence against humans. Pet abuse is a strong predictor of domestic violence, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

While all 50 states have anticruelty statutes, the laws are of limited effectiveness even for the small number of animals they cover for two reasons. First, statutes prohibit intentional acts that cause unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering. A prosecutor in a cruelty case must therefore prove the defendant’s subjective intent, the animal’s suffering and that the suffering was unnecessary or unjustified – standards that are subject to judicial interpretation.

Second, statutes commonly exempt animals used for food, research and entertainment as well as wildlife. Most cruelty occurs in the context of food production and scientific research. Therefore, the qualifications and exemptions in anticruelty statutes swallow up almost all protections the laws purport to offer.

There are many ways to improve cruelty prosecutions: appoint animal victim advocates, expand the investigative powers of law enforcement, require cross-reporting between child abuse and animal abuse cases, require perpetrators to undergo counseling and increase penalties. The most important improvement, though, is revision of anticruelty statutes to remove their broad exemptions and subjective standards.

If our statutes aim to raise public morality, deter future violence and recognize animal sentience, then we must include all practices and all animals, not just the cute ones with whom we share our lives.